Brene Brown Discusses Shame as a Barrier to Human Connection

In her first talk at TEDxHouston, research professor at University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, Dr. Brene Brown discusses her initial research into human connection and our ability to love and feel like we belong and how that led her to focus deeper into the subject on shame and fear. With a background in social work, Brene Brown understands human connection as fundamental as it provides purpose and meaning in a way nothing else can.

Brene Brown found that there is one point where that grasp on connection unravels completely -- at a point of shame and fear. Dr. Brown defines shame as the the fear of disconnection, which is universal (the only people who don’t experience shame, she points out, are sociopaths). This intriguing journey into the nature of shame led Brene Brown through six years of research into the feelings of excruciating vulnerability, something she says it is time to talk about.